Shoe heel and sole



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J. DE NORONHA SHOE HEEL AND sow Filed Sept. 17, 1938 IN V EN TOR. Joaquin de Noronha April 22, 1941;

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1941 "UNETE'D STATES FKEENT EFMIE SHOE HEEL AND SGLE Joaquin de Noronha, New York, N. Y., assignor to De Noronha Rubber Products Corporation, New Brunswick, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey -Application September 17, 1938; Serial No. 230,491

7 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe heelsand soles. It is particularly directed to a rubber heel or sole provided with recessescarrying inserts, through which the nails fastening-the heel or the sole to the shoe, are driven.

An object of this invention is to provide in a heel or sole of the character described, an insert so shaped that it will .not move out of contact with respect to the bottomwalls ofthe recesses, thereby preventing dirt or: grit from entering between the inserts and the bottom walls of the recesses, and hence, extending the life of the heel is nailed to the shoe; by nails driven through the inserts, whereby to prevent any movement between the inserts and the heel.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a compact and durable heel or sole of the character described, which shall" be relatively inexpensive to-manufacture, easy to assemble and 2 apply to a shoe, and which shall yet'b-e'pra tical and efiioient to a' high degree.

Other objects of .this inventioncwill in. part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the fea- 1 tures of construction, combinations of elements,

. and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in theconstructionhereinafter described, and of Which'the-scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view of heel embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of one of the inserts;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view of the heel with the inserts removed; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, and illustrating a rubber heel attached to the leather heel portion of an article of footwear.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, H) designates a shoe heel embodying the invention. The heel Ill comprises a member II made of rubber and having the horizontal contour of the usual rubber heel. Said member H is formed ward each other.

at the bottom thereof, with a plurality ofsimilar, V-shaped recesses l2.

Two ofthe recesses. 12 are symmetrically disposed; one with respect to the other. about the longitudinal axis of the heel, with the apices to- The third recess I2 is located between the first. two symmetrical recesses and the .rear end of the heel, with the arms of said third recessextending toward the rear of the heel, and one arm being symmetrical with respect to the other about the longitudinal of between said arms.

the heel.

The bottom surfaces l3 of the recesses l2 are flat and parallel to the top and bottom surfaces i i and; 85 of theheel. Thenside Walls of the recesses are perpendicular to the bottom walls I3. The outer ends of the arms of the V-shaped recesses l2 are pointed inwardly, as at It, whereby to provide part-circular portions 11, projecting from a side edge of said recess into the space The portions I! are somewhat less than a complete circle, the recesses beingsomewhat claw shaped, for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Within each recess; 52 is an insert 26 made of leather orthelike flexible material. The re- :cesses H! are ofgreater depththan'the' thickness of theinserts 28, whereby when said in- :serts are placed within the recesses, they may be pressed entirely into-said recesses, so as not to project beyond the bottom surface. l5. The

: inserts 26 have the same general shape as the recesses.

. "The upper surface 2i: of each insert 26 is con- .cave, whereas,..:the bottom surface 22 is convex.

The side edges 23 of the inserts 29 are normally parallel to the side walls of the recesses, or. perpendicular to the bottom surfaces I3 of the recesses. The side edges 23 of the inserts contact the side walls of the recesses l2.

After the inserts have been placed within the recesses, nails 25 may be driven through the inserts and through the member I l, into the leather part 25 of the heel. Three nails may be driven through each insert, one at the apex, and one at the outer end of each arm. When the nails 25 are driven through the inserts 20, said inserts will be flattened out to make the side edges incline outwardly and upwardly, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, thus, preventing the inserts from moving away from the bottom wall l3 of the recesses, and hence, eliminating the possibility of dirt or grit entering between the inserts and the bottom walls of the recesses.

When the nails 25 are driven through the inserts, furthermore, the portions I! of the heel will be gripped by the confronting inner edges of the arms of the inserts to aid in holding the inserts firmly within the recesses, thus producing a tight fit.

Although the invention has been illustrated in the form of a heel, it will be understood that the invention may also be embodied in rubber soles provided with recesses I2, receiving inserts 20, nailed to the leather part of the sole by nails 25, or other suitable fastening members.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

A dominant feature of the invention is the provision of an article of footwear having a rubber tread member, such as a heel or sole, formed with one or more recesses on the under surface thereof, receiving concave inserts which are flattened out by the nails driven through the inserts, for attaching the tread member to the shoe or slipper, and causing the side edges of the inserts to become inclined when the inserts are flattened out to firmly grip the side Walls of the recesses.

A further dominant feature of the invention is the provision of recesses having arms provided with portions extending inwardly toward each other, and inserts fitted within said recesses and similarly shaped to grip the portion of the heel between the arms, when nails are driven through the inserts.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A tread member for an article of footwear comprising a flat member made of rubber and formed with a recess on the under side thereof, and an insert secured within said recess, said insert having an initially concave upper surface which, when said insert is secured in said recess, lies flat against the bottom of said recess, the side edges of said insert being wedged into the side walls of said recess.

2. A tread member for an article of footwear comprising a fiat member made of rubber and formed with a recess on the underside thereof, and an insert within said recess, said insert having an initially concave upper surface and an initially convex under surface, said recess being of V-shape, and said insert being of similar shape, the outer ends of the arms of the recess and insert being spaced from and extended inwardly toward each other, the upper surface of said insert lying flat against the bottom of said recess.

3. An article of footwear having a rubber heel formed with a V-shaped recess on the under surface thereof, a V-shaped leather insert fitted within said recess, a nail driven through said insert for securing said heel to the article of footwear, said insert having a pair of diverging arms and an interconnecting portion, the side edges of said insert being in engagement with the side walls of the recess and inclined upwardly and outwardly, the outer ends of said diverging arms being spaced from each other, and a portion of said under surface extending from a side edge of said recess into the space between said arms and tightly engaging the latter to assist in retaining the insert in said recess.

4. A shoe having a rubber heel formed with a recess on the under surface thereof, a leather insert within said recess, a nail driven through said insert, the side edges of said insert being in contact with the side walls of said recess and inclined upwardly and outwardly, said insert having a pair of arms and an interconnecting portion, and said arms having portions extending inwardly toward each other.

5. A tread member for an article of footwear comprising a fiat member made of rubber and formed with a recess on the under side thereof, an insert within said recess, said insert having initially a concave upper surface and a convex under surface, said recess being of claw shape, and said insert being of similar shape, the outer ends of the arms of the recess and insert being extended inwardly toward each other.

6. A tread member for an article of footwear made of rubber and being formed with a fiat claw shaped recess on the under side thereof, and a claw shaped insert made of leather within said recess, the outer ends of said recess and insert being extended inwardly toward each other, as and for the purpose described.

'7. An article of footwear having a rubber heel formed with a claw shaped recess on the under surface thereof, a claw shaped leather insert within said recess, a nail driven through said insert, the side edges of said insert being in engagement with the side walls of the recess and inclined upwardly and outwardly.

JOAQUIN DE NORONHA. 

